Cisco Duo vs UserLock comparison

Cisco and IS Decisions are both solutions in the Authentication Systems category. Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.5, while IS Decisions is ranked #20. Cisco holds a 9.2% mindshare in AS, compared to IS Decisions’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IS Decisions users who would recommend it.

Cisco Duo

Read 74 Cisco Duo reviews

6,878 Views
5,571 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

UserLock

Read 2 UserLock reviews

971 Views
660 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Duo

UserLock

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

UserLock and Cisco Duo are both prominent solutions for secure user authentication. Cisco Duo seems to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive features, making it worth the investment.

What features are offered by UserLock in comparison to Cisco Duo?

UserLock offers straightforward integration and robust access control. It is also known for its strong pricing and responsive customer support. Cisco Duo provides advanced multi-factor authentication, extensive third-party integration, and detailed security measures, appealing to those needing more comprehensive security solutions.

What areas of improvement can be found in UserLock in comparison to Cisco Duo?

UserLock needs enhancements in scalability and mobile support. Users also suggest better integration with other security tools. Cisco Duo could improve in terms of ease of use, streamlining configuration settings, and reducing the learning curve associated with its deployment.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of UserLock in comparison to Cisco Duo?

UserLock is known for its quick deployment and responsive customer service. In contrast, Cisco Duo, while having a detailed onboarding process, faces criticism for a more complex setup. UserLock's simpler implementation gives it an edge, despite Cisco Duo’s structured approach.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with UserLock in comparison to Cisco Duo?

UserLock is noted for its reasonable setup costs and significant return on investment. Cisco Duo, slightly higher in initial expenditure, demonstrates a high ROI through its extensive security features. Users find the higher cost of Cisco Duo justified by its advanced capabilities, though UserLock’s affordability provides strong value.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Duo vs. UserLock Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. UserLock

July 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Duo

Ranking in Authentication Systems

2nd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (4th), ZTNA as a Service (6th), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (2nd)

UserLock

Ranking in Authentication Systems

20th

Average Rating

10.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Access Management (25th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Cisco Duo is 9.2%, down from 11.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of UserLock is 1.1%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Authentication Systems

Featured Reviews

Thomas Botts

Senior Network Engineer at a educational organization with 1-10 employees

Managing security policies effectively with seamless authentication

The feature of Cisco Duo that I prefer the most is the policies, being able to control what we need to within the policies. You can get pretty granular. There isn't a lot of training that goes on in school districts. Email is an easy way where many people give out their credentials, so the level of protection is something that we definitely need in a school district. Cisco Duo's strong security authentication system has been easy when logging in, although the teachers don't appreciate it as much. We have it configured so users essentially just hit accept. If it sees any sort of built-in risk, then it steps up authentication. It's pretty easy. I appreciate it. I've encountered advantages with Cisco Duo in that it has stopped significant pushback from teachers. It has prevented credential sharing and unauthorized access. We've seen a huge decrease since we've rolled it out across the entire district.

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Bill H.

Information Technology at City Of Keizer

Affordable, easy to use, and integrates well with Active Directory

The product and service are already great as it is but if I could add one feature, I guess it would be nice to have another factor of authentication (two additional factors) like your phone and a token for example, for when people forget their phone at home. It’s not that I mind not having two factors, but I do get that question from time to time from some of our users who think it would be really useful. From what I’ve heard, they’re working on it and it should be coming in the next version so that’s great news.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"We get fewer threats to remediate due to the two-factor authentication, which does not allow as many threats through."

"The most appealing feature of Cisco Duo is the phone notification system that simply pops up on your phone."

"Cisco Duo helps minimize the risk of attack vectors and prevents unauthorized access to our data since it's tied with multi-factor authentication, which helps block threats."

"The solution is pretty secure."

"It's pretty easy for users to figure it out."

"I lead an IT organization that has a significant amount of technical debt, and we're not in a zero-trust architecture yet. I'm pushing in that direction. Duo helps me considerably with my identity in an environment where I don't have zero trust. It's helping me bridge the gap until I can build a zero trust architecture."

"The most valuable feature is the ability for users to connect securely to the office using the VPN."

"The flexibility is the most valuable feature. We use it for the app on the phone. When we're at different locations, the phone is usually there, so we can use that. It has just been a very flexible option."

More Cisco Duo pros

"We mainly implemented UserLock for multi-factor authentication, but the user login insights are also nice."

"The most valuable features are two-factor authentication and real-time logon monitoring."

Cons

"The technical engineers in the first line of support should improve their knowledge."

"They could just continue to add more integrations."

"The only challenge is finding the right person sometimes. From what I've seen, being a named account is a big deal."

"Duo Security should have more customized use cases. For example, if a client needs to have more customization, it would be better to connect directly with Duo's R&D to try to discuss the issues together in order to add customizations."

"We first deployed Duo Security for our company with the VPN, and afterward, about a year later, we implemented it for a customer of ours where we offered infrastructure as a service. When I tried to establish a VPN connection through Duo Security, it did not function well on that version, which was the latest one at the time. So, I had to make a copy of the machine and then implement Duo Security with the VPN because it did not function well with the newer version."

"There is a little bit of apprehension for some users thinking, well, "How do I know this app is not collecting personal information from my personal device?""

"General announcements when new features come out with Cisco Duo should be broadcasted to customers who are using it, which might bring more accessibility to their documents so users can be more in tune with updates."

"Cisco Duo is a modern product that does not support older applications, lacking backward compatibility. It should work on supporting legacy applications and legacy approaches."

More Cisco Duo cons

"I would like to see UserLock add the ability to automatically create a group policy in Active Directory. That might streamline the setup process."

"The product and service are already great as it is but if I could add one feature, I guess it would be nice to have another factor of authentication (two additional factors) like your phone and a token for example, for when people forget their phone at home."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am not aware of the pricing. There are two departments, and I don't have any information about them."

"Price wise, it's not cheap, but it's not expensive at all either. It's in the middle."

"With regard to pricing, for a small business buying a one off, it's pretty expensive. If it's an enterprise that has thousands of employees, however, it's really nothing to protect your data because if your network goes down or it's breached, you're losing millions of dollars every minute. When it comes to a large enterprise, it's priced where it should be because you're talking business to business. You're not talking business to consumer."

"It was very reasonable."

"You pay per user when using this solution and the pricing is fair."

"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."

"Their pricing model is a little bit weird. Currently, there is no price advantage in signing up for yearly contracts. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing costs."

"Its price is reasonable. It is not highly expensive."

More Cisco Duo pricing and cost advice

"You will be hard-pressed to find better pricing."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

Government

15%

University

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?

We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...

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What do you like most about Duo Security?

They are users who, as mentioned before, utilize RDPAP and MDPAP. It includes functionalities related to finance, specifically in single sign-on.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?

My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Cisco Duo is honestly above my pay grade. I don't know any of that.

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Comparisons

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Cisco Duo

Compared 14% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Cisco Duo

Compared 13% of the time

Fortinet FortiToken vs Cisco Duo

Compared 11% of the time

Yubico YubiKey vs Cisco Duo

Compared 8% of the time

CyberArk Identity vs Cisco Duo

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Duo Competitors

Microsoft Entra ID vs UserLock

Compared 21% of the time

Silverfort vs UserLock

Compared 17% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs UserLock

Compared 10% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs UserLock

Compared 9% of the time

AuthLite vs UserLock

Compared 9% of the time

More UserLock Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo

August 2025

Download Cisco Duo product report

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

July 2025

Download UserLock product report

Also Known As

Duo Security

No data available

Overview

Cisco Duo is a cloud-based identity security tool offering easy and wide-ranging access protection for users and devices worldwide. It assures identity-first security with clear visibility across multi-cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments.

Cisco Duo provides robust multi-factor authentication and seamless integration capabilities with existing infrastructures. Appreciated for its stability and speed, it supports distributed workforces by securing VPN access, corporate networks, and cloud services. Duo’s comprehensive identity ecosystem supports easy deployment and management through a single-pane-of-glass management interface. It seamlessly merges with popular platforms like Active Directory and Office 365 across diverse hardware.

What are Cisco Duo’s Essential Features?

Multi-Factor Authentication: Offers secure access with options like push notifications and hardware tokens.
Seamless Integration: Easily fits with existing systems and third-party applications.
User-Friendly Management: Provides centralized control with a single-pane-of-glass interface.
Wide Compatibility: Supports broad applications and devices, enhancing security management.
Stable and Fast: Reliable speed and intuitive interaction for users across platforms.

What Benefits and ROI Can Cisco Duo Users Expect?

Enhanced Security: Increases protection with versatile MFA options for critical resources.
Ease of Use: Simplifies deployment and management with intuitive interfaces.
Scalability: Adapts to growing needs with broad compatibility and integration support.
Support for Distributed Workforces: Ensures secure remote access for teams anywhere.

Cisco Duo finds extensive applications across education, finance, retail, and government sectors by fortifying network and application access security. Organizations leverage it for its MFA capabilities, integrating with ERP systems, ensuring protected connectivity with VPN and cloud-based services, crucial in maintaining secure and efficient operations.

Cisco

Two Factor Authentication & Access Management for Windows Active Directory.

UserLock helps administrators to manage and secure access for every user, without obstructing employees or frustrating IT.

Two Factor Authentication on Windows logon, RDP, IIS and VPN connections. UserLock supports 2FA using authenticator applications which include Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator and LastPass Authenticator, or programmable hardware tokens such as YubiKey and Token2.

Single Sign-On: Secure and frictionless access to Microsoft 365 and other Cloud Applications, using on-premise Active Directory credentials.

Access Restrictions: Using the contextual information around a user’s logon, UserLock will authorize, deny or limit how a user can access the network, once authenticated.

Access Monitoring: Track and alert on all users’ logon and logoff activity in real-time. Interact remotely with any session and respond to login behavior.

Access Auditing: Record and report on all user connection events to provide a central audit across the whole network.

IS Decisions

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Barclays, US Department of Justice, National Bank of Kuwait, Turkish Aerospace, New York Albany School District, Regtransfers, University of Kent, Camden City School District, Oklahoma City Public Schools, Bank of Cyprus, Detran-PE: Pernambuco State Traffic Department

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Duo vs. UserLock

July 2025

Free Report: Cisco Duo vs. UserLock

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